The 2014 MLB Draft begins June 5^th at 7pm EST with LIVE coverage of the first 74 selections from MLB Network’s Studio 42. The remaining 39 rounds will take place June 6-7 and can be followed on MLB.com.

In all, approximately 1,200 young players will realize their dream of being drafted by a Major League organization.

The theme of this year’s draft appears to be velocity. Never in draft history have there been so many pitchers that run their fastballs up to 95 mph and above.

Texas native RHP Tyler Kolek heads the list and is the hardest throwing high school pitcher of the draft era. His 6’5” frame produces 100 mph fastballs on a regular basis with reports of hitting 103 mph this spring. Add in three-digit reports from high school right-handers Jacob Bukauskas and Grant Holmes, as well as college relievers Nick Burdi and Michael Cederoth, and you have the makings of the hardest throwing class in recent history.

Expect to see a few other pitchers taken early including NC State lefty Carlos Rodon, LSU right-hander Aaron Nola and high school arms LHP Brady Aiken and RHP Touki Toussaint; who have advanced off-speed stuff and also venture into the mid-90s.

Position players aren’t as plentiful this year, but SS Nick Gordon (son of Flash and brother of Dee) is as complete as they come. He should be taken within the top five picks. Alex Jackson, a high school catcher out of San Diego, has the best hit and power combination in the draft and should attract lots of early attention as well. The draft’s premiere athlete is Monte Harrison, an OF who is committed to play baseball and football at the University of Nebraska. His tools are impressive and should make him a mid-1^st round selection.

Overall this looks to be an extremely deep draft class without a clear-cut #1 selection, but with lots of talented young players. As always, we’ll see many Major League players emerge from the group picked next week. We wish all of our draft-hopefuls the best of luck!

Follow our 2014 MLB Draft Coverage leading up to and LIVE from Studio 42 on June 5:

@BaseballFactory  @Steve_Bernhardt

Don’t miss our Twitter Draft Chat, Wednesday, June 4 at 12:30 PM EST! Our resident expert and Chairman of the Under Armour All-America Game Selection Committee, Steve Bernhardt, will answer all your last minute draft questions! Use #BFDraftChat to join the conversation!